Bright Lights and the Big City at Epic Roasthouse

Hawaiian ono at Epic Roasthouse, which lists on the menu where all its seafood is from and how it was caught.

Epic Roasthouse on San Francisco’s waterfront is the kind of place you go to impress.

There’s the unparalleled view of the Bay from most any table, including the jaw-dropping LED “Bay Lights” flickering installation on the Bay Bridge.

There’s the over-the-top clubby decor by famed restauranteur-designer Pat Kuleto that showcases the dining room in a sort of pump-house-gone-glam look.

And of course, there is the menu, full of luxurious ingredients and spendy dishes including a 4-ounce A5 Miyazaki Wagyu steak for $98 and “An Epic Meal for Two” (a 32-ounce Tomahawk rib steak plus a 2-pound lobster) for $198.

The view outside the windows.

The dramatic dining room ceiling.

Part of the pump house-like decor.

Last fall, Park Ulrich, also executive chef of adjacent restaurant Waterbar, took over the same position at Epic Roasthouse when founding chef, Jan Birnbaum, departed. I had a chance to dine at Epic Roasthouse recently as a guest of the restaurant, though, it was a night when Ulrich was not there.

The “Bee Flight.”

A wonderful way to begin the night is with the unique “Bee Flight” ($12) of three sparkling meads by Heidrun Meadery of Point Reyes Station, the only maker in the United States of honey wine made in the traditional French methode Champenoise. There is Hawaiian Macadamia Nut, California Orange Blossom and California Avocado Blossom. They are all brut dry but with the unmistakable taste of honey in them, along with nice minerality. The macadamia one actually tastes nutty, the orange blossom one has a bright citrus note and the avocado one has a distinct grassiness. If you’ve never tried mead before, do indulge in this flight of fancy.

Kale salads seem to be everywhere now, so it wasn’t surprising to find one here, tossed with tangerines, pine nuts and ricotta ($12). The combination of ingredients worked well together, but the leaves were a little overdressed.

via:http://www.foodgal.com/2014/03/bright-lights-and-the-big-city-at-epic-roasthouse/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+FoodGal+%28Food+Gal%29